Picture this: It’s late winter, and the animals look healthy, milk production seems normal, but something is wrong. The farmer doesn’t know it yet, but the herd is sitting on a ticking time bomb. A subclinical vitamin deficiency remains undetected, quietly impairing productivity and health, until it eventually erupts into costly health problems, reduced fertility, and significant financial losses.
This scenario plays out on farms worldwide, costing the agricultural industry millions of dollars annually. One of the culprits? Fat-soluble vitamins A, E, and beta-carotene. These are essential nutrients that animals cannot produce themselves but need from feed for optimal health.
The Problem: When “Healthy” Animals Aren’t Really Healthy
Prof. Florian Schweigert, founder of BioAnalyt and a leading expert in animal nutrition, explains the insidious nature of vitamin deficiencies: “These nutrients accumulate in tissues and transport through blood over time. If not fed correctly, they decrease continuously, causing subclinical deficiency.”
Subclinical deficiency is the silent killer of animal agriculture. Animals appear healthy on the surface, but their vitamin levels are dropping dangerously low. By the time visible symptoms appear, such as reduced vision, skin disorders, compromised immune function, or poor fertility, the damage is already done. Recovery becomes expensive and time-consuming.
The Cascade of Consequences
When animals lack adequate levels of vitamins A, E, and beta-carotene, the effects ripple through every aspect of production. Reproductive health suffers through poor ovarian function and luteal development, leading to reduced fertility rates, longer intervals between successful pregnancies, and fewer offspring per breeding cycle.
The immune system collapses as animals become more susceptible to infections. Dairy cows experience higher rates of mastitis while compromised mucosal integrity reduces their resistance to diseases across all species.
Product quality deteriorates significantly. Meat quality and shelf life decline due to poor oxidative stability. In poultry operations, pale egg yolks fail to meet consumer expectations. Throughout dairy operations, compromised milk production directly impacts profitability.
The Traditional Approach: Flying Blind
For decades, farmers and veterinarians relied on feed formulation calculations to estimate vitamin intake. But as Prof. Schweigert reveals, this approach is fundamentally flawed: “Measuring concentration in feed formulation has different meaning compared to direct blood measurement. From production to consumption, there are losses and effects on composition.”
The traditional process was cumbersome and slow. A veterinarian would collect blood samples and send them to distant laboratories for complex analytics requiring expensive equipment. Results were delayed by one to two weeks, meaning that by the time farmers received information, it was often too late to prevent problems.
This delay meant farmers were always playing catch-up, treating problems instead of preventing them.
The Game-Changer: Real-Time Decision Making
The transformation came with portable testing technology. Prof. Schweigert describes the transformation: “A veterinarian or feed consultant can take a small blood sample from the cow and in 5 minutes get the result and immediately consult and advise the farmer how to proceed.”
This isn’t just about convenience. It fundamentally changes how animal health is managed by shifting from reactive to proactive care. Farmers
can now identify deficiencies before symptoms appear, target supplementation to actual needs rather than guesswork, monitor high-risk periods closely during late gestation and early lactation, and adjust nutrition in real-time based on seasonal changes.
The economic impact is substantial. Farms can prevent expensive disease outbreaks, optimize supplement costs by eliminating over- or under-supplementing, improve reproductive efficiency, and enhance product quality and market value.
Real-World Success Stories
The data speaks volumes. Studies consistently show that farms using blood-level monitoring achieve remarkable improvements. Dairy operations see reduced mastitis rates through targeted vitamin E supplementation. Fertility rates improve across all species by identifying and correcting deficiencies early. Meat quality enhancement results in longer shelf life, while poultry operations achieve better egg quality with optimal carotenoid levels.
The Seasonal Challenge
Prof. Schweigert emphasizes critical risk periods: “Important seasons to watch are the winter period, when animals are fed stored, bleached hay or forages which are low in beta-carotene, and during the transition period during late gestation and early lactation when blood levels naturally drop.”
These predictable patterns allow farmers to anticipate deficiency risks and implement preventive supplementation strategies. They can monitor vulnerable animals more closely and adjust nutrition programs seasonally to maintain optimal health.
Species-Specific Solutions
Not all animals are created equal when it comes to vitamin metabolism. Prof. Schweigert notes crucial differences: “Cows have generally high levels of beta-carotene, while goats and pigs have no levels. These animals are called ‘white-fat animals’ because even if you feed beta-carotene, you cannot increase their blood levels.”
This biological reality demands tailored testing protocols for different species, customized supplementation strategies, species-specific reference ranges, and a deep understanding of metabolic differences between animals.
The Economics of Prevention
The financial argument is compelling. Prof. Schweigert explains: “The value of animal production lies in reproductive health, number of offspring produced, and quality of milk and meat. If you measure and prevent subclinical vitamin deficiencies, you can prevent high costs in lost productivity with little cost for analytics.”
When examining the cost-benefit analysis, prevention costs involve minimal investment in testing and targeted supplementation. Treatment costs, however, include veterinary care, lost production, reduced fertility, and poor product quality.
Looking to the Future
The evolution continues. Prof. Schweigert envisions a future where “analytics move closer to animals with a widened analytical spectrum, measuring not only fat-soluble vitamins but also inflammatory markers, acute phase proteins, and multiple parameters in one test.”
This multiplex approach will provide comprehensive health monitoring, early disease detection, integrated nutrition and health management, and real-time decision support systems that revolutionize farm management practices.
The Call to Action
Prof. Schweigert’s advice is simple but profound: “Measure, don’t guess, especially in high-risk times when regular farm diet supplementation isn’t enough.”
The message is clear. In an industry where margins are tight and competition fierce, farmers cannot afford to gamble with invisible deficiencies. The technology exists to transform animal agriculture from reactive crisis management to proactive health optimization. The question isn’t whether farmers can afford to implement vitamin monitoring. It’s whether they can afford not to.
From Crisis to Opportunity
What began as a story about hidden vitamin deficiencies reveals a larger truth about modern agriculture. 
The farms that thrive in the 21st century won’t be those that simply feed their animals. They’ll be those that understand, monitor, and optimize animal nutrition at the molecular level.
The tools are available. The science is proven. The economic benefits are clear. The only question remaining is: Will you be among the pioneers who embrace precision nutrition, or will you remain vulnerable to the silent crisis of subclinical deficiency?
The choice is yours, but time won’t wait. Every day counts, and taking action now can keep you ahead rather than catching up later.
iCheck: The Solution in Action
The iCheck analyzers for vitamin A, vitamin E , and beta-carotene make Prof. Schweigert‘s vision practical reality. These portable devices allow on-site blood testing, eliminating laboratory delays and regulatory barriers.
Cattle operations use iCheck Carotene to optimize fertility during winter months. Swine producers detect vitamin E deficiencies immediately during critical weaning periods. Poultry operations monitor carotenoids for optimal egg quality while maintaining flock health.
On-site testing bypasses international shipping of biological samples while reducing costs up to 70%. Most importantly, five-minute results enable immediate nutritional adjustments instead of waiting weeks for laboratory reports.
Prof. Schweigert’s principle of “measure, don’t guess” is now transforming farms worldwide into precision health management systems, optimizing both animal welfare and economic performance.
References
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- Moghimi-Kandelousi, M. H., Alamouti, A. A., Imani, M., & Zebeli, Q. (2020). A meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effects of vitamin E supplementation on serum enrichment, udder health, milk yield, and reproductive performance of transition cows. Journal of Dairy Science, 103(7), 6157-6166. doi:10.3168/jds.2020-18461
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- Mary, A. E. P., Graulet, B., Grolier, P., & Doreau, M. (2021). β-carotene and vitamin E status of dairy cows: Prevalence of deficiency around calving across European herds. Animal, 15(5), 100241. doi:10.1016/j.animal.2021.100241
